Ring packing



.July 23,1935. Y G. CHRSTENON 2,008,682

RING "PACKING Filed. Sept. 19, 1932 ATTORNEY Patented July 23, 1935 .y I I UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE RING PACKING George Christenson, Plainfield, N. J., assignor to V Johxls-Manville Corporation, New York, N. Y.,

a. corporation of New York Application September 19, 1932, Serial No; 633,833

v4 Claims. (Cl. 288-1) This invention relates to a, lubricant-retaining ing the improved packing ring in position around l washer or packing, as, for example, ring packan automobile axle. ing adapted for use on a rotating round mem- In the various figures like reference characber and to a method of `making the same. ters denote like parts.

5 The invention comprises a shaped and then There iS ShOwn a ring packing including a body 5 hardened packing adapted to retain its shape 0T backing DOItiOn l that is suitably composed during use. A typical embodiment is a ring pack- 0f a DOH-DOIOIIS, heat-resistant composition, such ing including a diflicultly yielding body portion as rubber or rubber compound and heat-resistant of rubber compound or tne like, e nexible lip ,reenforoing means I6. yThe reenforcement may concentric with and disposed Within the body consist of a woven fabric, such as wire-inserted lo portion and united thereto at its side portion, asbestos cloth into which the rubber or rubber y and means disposed between the said body por- COmPOllnd iS thOrOllghlY impregnated The ilextion and lip for improving or tightening the ible lip 2 is attached at its side portion 3 to the engagement of the lip with the moving surface Said body portion- The .flexible lip and body that is to be packed. In the preferred form, the portion in the packing that is illustrated are i5 lip has a lower susceptibility to softening and ring-Shaped and are COUCEDYC- The lip is diS- change in frictional characteristics at an eleposed inside the body Portion and CODtaCtS 0n voted temperature than the body portion its inner surface with thevmoving surface that The invention is particularly applicable to, is pacled as illustrated m Fig 3- packing in an automobile axle' assembly, for the T0 lmpOVe. the CODaCt 0f the packing `lip 20 purpose of preventing the passage of oil or grease Wlth the movmg, Surface there i5 Provided an from the differential, for example, through the annular coiled pull Spring 4 which is Seated in housing around the axle to the brakes on the the groove 5 between the up and the body rear Wheels. There have been proposed hereportlon' tofore special shapes of felt or leather washers, The assembly shown m Fig' 3 represents a 25 in sha e-retainin assemblies, to revent this part of a' rear axle assembly of an automobile leakage? g p There are shown here the packing ring 6 with 1l spring in position. The other parts illus- To the packing elements previously proposed pu there is considerable objection. Fen is oi1' raggrilchrlde tf1; xle 7C', @de www? s' hub permeable. Also, leather is somewhat permeable tile bearigng agie mtg rg lynch! with to oil and is of a degree of softness that varies -ta' n ams e pac mg Img m with the extent of saturation with oil. Furtherpsl lofntnd prevents its displacement lengthmoi'e, leather washers `or packing elements are vlslats dlrdeapgeultzr gurhahousnha not adapted to withstand high temperatures for ks c? o e a long time without change in the packing or lac tlngt and Ertegelts the passage of '011- there- 35 irictional characteristics. This Weakness is espe- Wil burllseood haslaoolfsiig; iagggoteg Clelly grslertt hg/eteumorills 312210311 at its end remote lfrom the hub, with the housing gilet? tt; h vl) th t h V g P d of the differential gears, which is a source of 40 are1 inenan; cgsaess ilost adptet irtirrlitiglltthsir g1g or gilieaie tthatthhas aclggss tg th'l'mlisiig s 40 roug 1, o e pac ing e 'eren a Shape WlhOllt the aSSlStanCe 0f metal parts 01 is not illustrated, as it is conventional. hoitsuiisgs.arl Object of the present invention to The lip consisshesstcentialll of a resilient, nonporous, wear an ea -resis ant com osition. It provide a packing member that obviates the diS- may consist of rubber and asbestos cloth, for 45 advantages of conventional lubricant-retaining example, However, it is preferable in packing a membeis that have been mentioned. high' speed part to have the contacting lip of 'Ilhe invention is illustrated 1n the drawmg, 1n lower susceptibility to change in consistency and which, frictional characteristics at an elevated temper- Fig. 1 is a face view of the embodiment of the ature than the rubber body portion, since the lip 50 invention that is preferred at this time, in partA is exposed to higher temperatures. A material broken away for clearness of illustration; that I have used with particular advantage, in Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the line 2-'-2 association with asbestos cloth reenforcement in of Fig. 1; and the packing lip, ispolymerized chloro-2-butadi- Fig. 3 is a sectional view of an assembly showene-1, 3, of the formula CHz:CC1.CH:CHz, here- 55 scribed 1by Carothers and others in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 53, pages -4203-6, 1931. As shown in this publication, the

chloroprene has greater resistance to elevated temperatures and to oil than rubber. In the completely polymer-ized state in which it is initially used, the chloroprene has a consistency approximating that of raw rubber.

The articles of the present invention may be made by a method which comprises shaping and then hardening the selected compositions. This general method is illustrated in more detail by the following specific example:

Asbestos cloth consisting of woven asbestos yarn is impregnated with rubber, as, for example, by a method including immersion of the cloth in a rubber solution and/or calendering rubber upon the surface of the cloth. The resulting rubberized cloth is then out into strips of suitable width. There are made also strips of material in which chloroprene is substituted for the rubber in the impregnation and/or coating of the cloth. There is then made an assembly ofv several strips of each kind, the rubber composition strips being placed to the side which is to form the body portion in the finished article and the chloroprene composition being placed at the side that is to constitute the lip. These assemblies or stacks are brought together at their side and the several strips of the two kinds are alternated and overlapped at a side edge portion of each. The assembly is then transferred to a steam-heated die in which the male die is provided with a properly located, circular ridge.

- The die is then closed, pressure is applied to shape the article and provide therein a groove corresponding to the said ridge in the die, and

the shaped article is partially hardened, as by being maintained for approximately fifteen minutes at a temperature corresponding to that produced by steam in the die at '70 pounds gauge pressure. 'Ihe die is then opened and the coiled annular spring bis placed in the bottom of the said groove. The article carrying the spring is then/transferred to the final shaping and hardening die in which it is pressed to approximately the exact shape desired and is further hardened, as by being maintained for 45 minutes at a temperature correspondng to steam at pounds gauge pressure.

During the final pressing operation, the groove is partly closed over the spring, as illustrated in the figures, in such manner as to increase the certainty of engagement of the sp'ring within the groove.

`The die pressing treatment at an elevated temperature causes the union of the chloroprene and rubber, these two being xniscible with each other as initially used, vulcanizes the rubber, and, at the same time, polymerzes the chloroprene beyond the state of its initial polymerization. The term polymerization is used herein as synonymous with hardening on being heated, without commitment to any theoryvto explain the cause of the hardening.

After the die pressing and hardening are completed, the product is removed from the die and is smoothed or trimmed over any irregularities oi' surface thereof.

Since the composition is first shaped to desired form and then hardened, it is possible to establish slopes or configurations of surface that conform closely with the surfaces that are to be packed. Thus, it is possible to provide a surface i3 of the edge of the body portion that is plainl and either at right angles to the surface M or sloped, as illustrated, for example, in Fig. 2. Likewise, the edge Ii of the packing lip or flange may be sloped to conform to a tapered automobile axle against which the lip contacts in use. Oil pressure acting upon the face upon which the groove 5 opens tends to cause flexing of the lip away from the body portion and to tighten the contact with the packed surface at the time when thorough packing is most needed, that is, when pressure is tending to cause flow of oil along the packed surface. 'Ihe general direction of the depth of the groove is at a right angle to the face of the packing ring, as illustrated; the readily stretched material of which the lip is composed makes possible its close engagement, under the influence of the pull spring, against the packed surface.

'I'he body portion, as illustrated, may be relatively rigid and adapted to maintain the shape of the packing ring without the provision of any special elements in the wheel assembly for maintaining the shape of the packing. For example, the shape-retaining body portion is adapted to retain, in approximately preestablished position, the base of the lip secured to the body portion. On the other hand, the flange is made relatively thin and flexible, so that the pull spring may hold -the lip in close contact with-the surface that is to ing washers of the type described are far superior to the conventional types comprising a felt or leather packing element.A

'I'he details that have been given are for the purpose of illustration and not description, and many variations therefrom may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A ring packing element including a difficultly yielding body portion comprising rubber, a lip more readily yielding than the said body portion disposed inwardlyv and concentrically with respect to the said body portion and integrally united thereto at a side portion, and means disposed between the said body portion and lip for improving the engagement of the lip with a packed surface, the said lip consisting essentially of a resilient, non-porous, wear-resistant composition more resistant to elevated temperatures than the said body portion.

2. A ring packing element including a difficultly yielding body portion 'comprising rubber, a flexible lip disposed inwardly and concentrically with respect to the said body portion and integrally united thereto at the side portion, and means disposed between the said body portion and lip for improving the engagement ci' the lip vwith a packed surface, the said 4lip consisting essentially of a resilient. non-porous, wear and heat-resistant composition comprising a substantial proportion oi' chloroprene.

3. A ring-packing element including a dimcultly yielding body portion comprising rubber, a flexible lip disposed inwardly and concentrically with respect to the said body portion and integrally united thereto 'at the side portion, and means disposed between the said body portion and lip for improving the engagement of the lip with a packed surface, the said lip consisting essentially of a resilient, non-porous, wear and heat-resistant composition comprising a substantial proportion of chloroprene and reenforcement 2,oos,es2 l therefor including bers of the type of asbestos associated with the chloroprene.

4. An oil retaining ring adapted for use in connection with an automobile axle comprising a. 5 body portion and a. iiexible lip secured at one side to the said body portion, the body portion being adapted to retain the base of the lip in approximately preestablished position, the body portion and lip including each a binder and reenforcing fibers associated therewith, and the binder in the lip being more resistant to elevated temperatures and oil than the binder in the said 5 body portion.

GEORGE CHRISTENSON. 

